Posted on 01/21/2006 4:31:56 PM PST by familyop
BERLIN, Jan. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said in an interview published Saturday that he is hopeful of a diplomatic solution to the thorny Iranian nuclear issue.
"I am fairly confident that there will be a diplomatic solution in the case of Iran," Jung told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
Jung said he hoped the Iran nuclear issue would be settled through negotiations in concert with the United States, Russia and China.
Asked if he agreed with French President Jacques Chirac, who said France could respond with nuclear weapons to a state-sponsored terrorist attack, Jung said: "we ought not to lead the discussion in that direction."
But he added that sabre-rattling on Iran, which has resumed nuclear research amid international opposition, is the right thing to do, even if diplomatic efforts have priority.
Germany denied Friday that it had any difference with France over the use of nuclear weapons, saying that Paris' position on the issue had been agreed with London and Berlin.
Chirac's remarks have sparked criticism by many German and EU politicians.
The current crisis over the Iranian nuclear issue came after Tehran on Jan. 10 resumed its nuclear research work regardless of the warnings and dissuasion of the EU and the United States.
In response, the European trio of Britain, France and Germany, which had been negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program on behalf of the bloc, called for an emergency meeting of the IAEA board of governors on Feb. 2 on whether to refer Iran to the UN Security Council. Enditem
Also,...
German defense minister hopeful of diplomatic solution on Iran
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562472/posts
...same topic but different column!
Chirac hs pretty well indicated he sees no future in talk with the crazy guys running Iran.
The Israeli Prime Minister more or less said "bye bye" to the Iranian people today.
Time to pull our troops back to the Saudi border eh.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.